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Friday, July 1, 2016

Out to pasture

Covering Thai cinema and living in Thailand for the past decade or so has been an illuminating experience, one that I'm not sure whether I'll regret.

I started this blog when the Thai film industry was in the midst of an upswing, and was being discovered by the movie-going public around the world. After university studies in music and journalism and then a career in small-town Midwestern American newspapers, I took a sudden, prolonged sojourn to Southeast Asia. It led me to seeing Thai films, more Asian films and rediscovering film in general. This blog was a way to enter the wide world of cinema and to record my becoming acquainted with Thai and Southeast Asian film culture.

Over the years, I have seen the region's film industry go through cycles of growth and contraction. Now, as the scene enters yet another period of what will hopefully be growth, maturation and an acceptance of new and different voices, I have reached a point where I am struggling to find new things to say about it all. While Thai and Southeast Asian filmmakers will continue their struggles, for me it is time to move on, seek greener pastures and other rewarding opportunities. Although the blog will hopefully remain online, this entry will be the last.

My reasons for this move are mostly personal. If pressed for more details, I will give my official answer, which is to say I hope to spend time researching His Majesty King Bhumibol's sufficiency theories and putting them into practice.

Thanks first to the readers. Also thank you to former colleagues at The Cambodia Daily, co-workers at The Nation in Bangkok, as well as the filmmakers, festival programmers, experts, academics, critics and fellow enthusiasts who have shown me kindness and been patient with me all these years.

I hope that my devotion to you all has somehow been reflected in my writing.

Wish to thank you for keeping up a wonderful and very unique blog which I started reading when moving to Bangkok in 2012; every now and then I have been returning to read your blog and discover an English so beautifully and precisely written you left me with no option but trying to watch all the films described. Meanwhile I moved to another continent, discovering the art of Latin-American cinema, setting up a film festival on human rights in Bolivia.

I hope your new whereabouts and future endeavors will serve you well. Thanks for your devotion to this blog, and please keep it online as long as possible for all of us to re-read past comments!

You will be missed. Thank you for maintaining a very consistent, informative and entertaining blog all these years. I'm glad we were able to meet, and I hope our paths cross again. Good luck on your new ventures and remember to always enjoy the ride.

I have come back throughout the years whenever i wanted news on Thai movies and entertainment given you're one of the only, if not only, credible English source of information. I am deeply saddened to read that you'll no longer be updating this blog and only found out as i'd returned to read up on any new Thai horror films out (thai horror are the best!). I wish you the very best in your life and future endeavours and thank you for your well-written reviews/sources throughout these years.;)

Thanks for your huge efforts over the years to bring a spotlight on Thai films. But I know it must be frustrating to talk about films that very few people will ever get to see due to the Thai distributors refusing to put English subs on their dvds and thus banishing their product to the nether world. Before they took on this self-inflicted wound Thai films were making headway all over the world, were being discussed by film fans and were creating excitement. Now - dead silence except from you. Again thanks so much.

I am sadden by your sudden departure from writing for this amazing blog. I love Thai films but over the last few years I feel fewer Thai films are being made which makes me understand why you would bring this blog to an end. I hope the Thai film industry will prosper and introduce the world stories we have never seen before. I hope your new endeavors will continue to help fans of Thai and South East Asian reach new heights of entertainment! We will miss your reviews and opinions on the Thai film industry!

Please, no questions or comments about where to download movies or subtitle files.

Please read the FAQ about Thai films on DVD before asking about where to find a Thai movie on DVD with English subtitles.

Make your comments pertinent to the post you are commenting on. For off-topic comments, general observations or news tips, consider sending an e-mail to me at wisekwai [ a t ] g m a i l [d o t ] c o m.